For Shoey's Jeep, all the hustle and strategical Sunday afternoon game plans put the team into position to win the United States Flag Football Association's national championship for the second straight year.

But in Virginia Beach, Va., nearly 400 miles from the chilly Lehigh Valley, Shoey's Jeep was denied its quest, falling 30-27 in overtime to Terry's Bad Boys (Va.) in the national semifinals.

According to Shoey's Jeep owner Brian Shoemaker says, it might as well have been the title game. Both teams made one big play after another; Terry's Bad Boys just happened to make the last of them.

And the Bad Boys then went on to win the national title, too.

"We were disappointed," Shoemaker said. "We wanted to defend our title, and we just came up a little short. We thought we had a good chance to repeat, but there were a lot of good teams. The best teams around were there."

Shoey's, with a roster that included former Liberty High School standout running back Warren West and other highly skilled players in quarterback Tom Deery and wide receiver Scott Shander, has made three straight appearances in the national tournament. In 1993, Shoey's was the national runner-up.

"It's always nice to win the national championship, but I've been playing a long time," said the 40-year-old Shoemaker. "Last year (1994) was the first time we won a national championship. Our team is always one of the top three or four teams in the association."

Shoey's competes in the Lehigh Valley Flag Football League and has figured in the championship race almost every year. The league has been operating since 1976

The 14-team LVFFL is the only sanctioned 8-on-8 league in Pennsylvania, and only teams competing in it can hope to advance to the nationals. Other Lehigh Valley representatives in the tournament included Gold Cup, Doctor FeelGoode's and Hawkins Medals. There are no at-large bids in flag football.

Each season, 28 teams compete in the national tournament. For some, just making it to that event is reason to celebrate -- especially in Virginia, where more than 300 teams play in sanctioned flag football leagues. It's the same in Ohio, the site of last year's national tournament.

Considering the caliber of competition at nationals, three straight Final Four appearances by Shoey's is a testimony to its strength.

Just call them the Bad Boys from Pennsylvania.

"I think our team is as strong as any team in the country," said Michael Schiffer, who is commissioner of the Lehigh Valley League and a member of Shoey's. "We lost in overtime in the semifinals to the team that won the whole thing. We were that close.

"I think it speaks very highly of Pennsylvania football for us to be competitive with a team that played in a state where there were 300 teams."

For now, Virginia is home of the flag football champs, but Shoey's hopes to challenge for the title again next year. Greed may fuel Shoey's attempt, but stiffness of the competition at nationals will make it another stern task.

The national tournament is a three-day, single-elimination affair. It begins on a Friday, then games are played all day Saturday. By the end of Saturday, only four teams remain alive for Sunday's shootout.

"When you go out to breakfast on Sunday morning and you're in uniform, that means you're still alive," Schiffer said. "It's pretty impressive when you walk through there and everybody is looking at you."